Historic district and Lead Paint

[houstonhouse]

Hi All:

I hope someone has an idea how to deal with this or what homeowner's legal rights are (if any):

We own a 1920's bungalow in the Houston area in a recently designated Historic area. We would really like to replace (presumed) lead painted siding....but the Historic board won't allow this as some of the house still contains original siding.

Can they force us legally to keep this lead painted siding? How expensive is having someone strip the paint safely? How does one go about finding out any of the above? How do you know if a contractor is doing it safely?

it's upsetting the thought of the cost of the removal of paint (vs. just replacing with similar, new, like, materials)

I don't want to encapsulate. The siding has a zillion layers of paint already and I don't think that's a good solution.

[artfox]

As the owner of a 1930's bungalow in the Eastwood area, I'm amazed to learn that your particular Houston neighborhood has a "Historic board" that tells you what you can or can't do to the exterior of your property. That sounds like a suburban HOA! You didn't mention which "recently designated Historic area" your home is in.

I'm not a lawyer or a realtor, but if the Historic Board was in existence when you closed on your bungalow, you should have been given documents informing you of any restrictions on exterior alterations. If the Board was established after you bought your house, you were no doubt given the opportunity to voice your opinion on its proposed rules.

Have you contacted your neighborhood Civic Association about your situation? They may have the answers you need.

Welcome to the OHW Forum! Please tell us more about your house (we LOVE pictures) and let us know what happens.

[Sashguy]

You would be amazed at how few Heights homes actually have lead paint. Odds are, your home and the Eastwood home were built by Robert and Otto Weiss, who was the prime contractor for Wilson Realty, who developed both subdivisions. Weiss and Sons Construction knew that Houston was too humid to use oil based paint and only oil based paint contained lead. But if you would like to know for sure, I do carry a certification. Send me a private message and I'll test it for you.

[pqtex]

What condition is your siding in? Is the only reason you want to replace it with new siding is the possibility of lead paint? If your siding is in good condition, I would be very hesitant to replace it. My experience with old lumber is that it is usually better quality than what is generally being sold today. We have original clapboard under siding that was installed in the 1950's. Our plans are to remove the siding and restore the original clapboard.

[pqtex]

Weiss and Sons Construction knew that Houston was too humid to use oil based paint and only oil based paint contained lead.

I didn't know that oil based paint was the only one to have lead. When was latex paint first manufactured?

I have always assumed that my exterior paint is lead. If the siding or trim is scraped to bare wood, can the proposed method of repainting be to apply the 50/50 mix of boiled linseed oil and turpentine to condition, then oil based bonding primer, then latex paint? That is the method I'm planning on using for the salvaged columns I just acquired, but now I'm wondering about the BLO and the oil based bonding primer.

[mross_pitt]

There was a percentage of old latex paints that contained lead. The big box store test swab won't tell you whether the old oil paint has mercury, chromium, cadmium, etc. which are just as much a problem. The percentage of lead decreased over the years, so it would be necessary to have a sample examined to determine the actual content and potential threat.

As mentioned earlier, encapsulating the old lead paint by painting over it is the easiest, safest thing to do.

[jade mortimer]

pq....picture for a moment, if you will, a piece of very dry wood..apply a few drops of oil to the wood and see how quickly the oil is absorbed...if you apply an oil based primer directly to that dry wood, the wood will wick the oil from the primer leaving the binder and pigment which will fail in short order...apply a liberal coat of blopentine to 'condition' 'consolidate' 'nourish' 'rehydrate' the wood...wipe off the excess oil then allow the wood to set at least overnight in a dry ventilated area (oil based products set up through oxidation (moving air)...apply a coat of oil primer followed by two coats of oil or water based paint...what is this 'bonding' primer of which you speak? we typically use ben moore penetrating oil (alkdy) primer followed by bm oil finish paints....

depending on the source, 'latex' or water based paint were first introduced in the 1940's and 1950's...lead, mercury and cadmium are used in many materials as a stabilizer...some latex paints did contain lead and mercury and cadmium as 'binder' or 'stabilizers'...i think it's good that dangerous materials are being removed from production but it does leave us with rather inferior paint if compared to those available 50 years ago...

the siding on your 90 year old home is superior to pretty much anything on the market today...best practices for an old home is to retain the historic fabric and restore rather than replace....the epa has made it difficult to find folks who are willing to work on old homes but you should be able to find someone who is sensitive to old homes and is certified in safe lead paint removal... check here for more (over the top and throught the woods) regulations regarding lead paint removal: http://www.epa.gov/lead

good luck!
...jade

[pqtex]

pq....picture for a moment, if you will, a piece of very dry wood..apply a few drops of oil to the wood and see how quickly the oil is absorbed...if you apply an oil based primer directly to that dry wood, the wood will wick the oil from the primer leaving the binder and pigment which will fail in short order...apply a liberal coat of blopentine to 'condition' 'consolidate' 'nourish' 'rehydrate' the wood...wipe off the excess oil then allow the wood to set at least overnight in a dry ventilated area (oil based products set up through oxidation (moving air)...apply a coat of oil primer followed by two coats of oil or water based paint...what is this 'bonding' primer of which you speak? we typically use ben moore penetrating oil (alkdy) primer followed by bm oil finish paints....

...jade

I've seen the term "bonding primer" and I guess I thought it was the same thing as penetrating primer. I also did not mean to infer that I was using BLO as a conditioner without using the turpentine. My question is mostly whether our hot humid climate (I am geographically close to the original poster and sashguy) affects whether or not I should use the blopentine and penetrating oil primer prior to painting.

Edit: I just re-read (and re-interpreted) what you said about using the penetrating oil primer. If I understand correctly, you are saying I should not use the penetrating oil primer without the blopentine first. I still have the question about climate and how it affects our oil vs latex paint choices. I sure don't want to have a paint failure after all my hard work!

[Sashguy]

pqtex, In this climate for old wood, I use Zinsser Bullseye 123 primer, full coat and an overcoat of Glidden Professional Fortis 450. I also use the primer for lead encapsulation, as it's binding properties are excellent. The oils that I encounter are always pretty rough due to the humidity at the time of application.

[lrkrgrrl]

"depending on the source, 'latex' or water based paint were first introduced in the 1940's and 1950's" (jade m)

Respectfully submit that water based paints predate latex (rubber) matrix. Milk and blood proteins were the earliest carriers, and are most certainly water based. O I forgot egg. But that was usually saved for fancy work.

Either way, if you can make paint, you can add pigments that may be heavy metals. or, not.

P.S. It is nice to drop in again....we finally have high-speed.. I will be back.